Paleontologists in Wyoming’s Bighorn Basin have announced the discovery of an exceptionally preserved fossil of a Plesiosaur, a long-necked marine reptile that lived during the Late Jurassic. Unlike most specimens, this find includes extensive soft-tissue impressions, revealing the texture and pattern of the creature's skin. Preliminary analysis suggests a mosaic of small, non-overlapping scales and evidence of a dorsal fin, a feature long debated among scientists.
The 12-meter-long skeleton was found in the Sundance Formation, which was once part of a vast inland sea. The fossil’s preservation is attributed to a rapid burial in fine-grained sediments, which prevented scavenging. This discovery is expected to revolutionize our understanding of marine reptile thermoregulation and hydrodynamics during the age of dinosaurs.